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Update, April 23, 2026, 3:40 p.m.: ACPS confirmed that the School Board is scheduled to vote on the revised MOU at its May 7 meeting, following the Governance Committee's May 1 review. This story has been updated.
ALEXANDRIA, Va - The Alexandria City School Board meets Thursday at 6 p.m. at 1340 Braddock Place without the long-anticipated vote on its 2026-28 Memorandum of Understanding with the Alexandria Police Department, after the Governance Committee directed division counsel to make additional changes to the draft agreement.
Board member Ashley Simpson Baird, who chairs the Governance Committee, confirmed the change in direction. "Last Friday in our Governance Committee meeting we asked our attorney to make additional changes and bring it back to us next Friday, May 1," Simpson Baird told The Alexandria Brief.
The committee met on April 17 — the morning after the public hearing on the MOU adjourned after one minute with no speakers signed up to participate. The original timeline, reiterated as recently as the April 9 board meeting, had pointed to final approval at Thursday's meeting.
The decision to send the document back pushes any vote past April and tightens the window before the current agreement expires June 30. Division Counsel Robert Falconi had cautioned the board on April 9 that reopening the document at this stage would likely require another extension of the existing MOU.
Ryan Belmore
What's on the agenda Thursday
With the MOU off the docket, the board will hear two monitoring items. Legislative Consultant Emily Webb of Advantus Strategies will present a recap of the 2026 Virginia General Assembly, which adjourned March 14. The board will also receive a Social Emotional Learning update covering implementation of SEL evaluation recommendations and integration strategies tied to the ACPS 2030 Strategic Plan.
A third information item presents additional proposed policy revisions for future adoption, including policy CF (School Building Administration), CF-R (Principal Duties) and EGAA/IIAC (Reproduction and Use of Copyrighted Materials).
Policy adoptions on the consent calendar
The consent calendar includes a batch of policy adoptions first presented for information on April 9. Among them is policy KNAJ — Relations with Law Enforcement Authorities — which on April 9 was noted as adding parental notification language for scenarios where no MOU is in place, a gap identified during the MOU review process.
Also on the consent calendar for adoption: policy JM (Managing Student Behaviors in Emergency Situations) and its regulations, which the draft MOU cites in its section on physical intervention by SROs; policy IGBC (Parent-Guardian and Family Engagement) along with associated regulations and Title I regulations; and student placement regulations effective July 1, 2026.
$4 million IDEA grant application
The consent calendar also includes the 2026-27 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act grant application — $3.9 million in Part B Section 611 flow-through funds and $103,117 in Part B Section 619 preschool funds — to support specially designed instruction, co-teaching, tier 3 interventions, postsecondary transition and family outreach.
Per the application memo, ACPS continues to be identified by the Virginia Department of Education as having significant disproportionality in one area: Black students classified with an Emotional Disability. Because of that designation, the district is required to set aside 15% of grant funds toward Comprehensive Coordinated Early Intervening Services to address the disparity.
The consent calendar also lists the 2026-27 Local Perkins V Plan for Career and Technical Education federal funds, though that item's supporting documents had not been uploaded to BoardDocs as of publication.
Recognitions and public comment
The meeting opens with a "Heart of ACPS: School Stories" recognition for Charles Barrett Elementary as part of the Superintendent's Report segment.
Seven community members have signed up to speak during public comment: in-person speakers Deborah McKeeman, Brian Godfrey, Leslie DeJesus Brooks, Crisa Young, Alan Bodiford and Genevieve Conty, plus Allison Smith via Zoom. Unlike last week's MOU public hearing, which was limited by rule to comments on the MOU topic, tonight's public comment period covers any matter related to ACPS operations.
What's next
The Governance Committee will review the revised MOU at its May 1 meeting at 8 a.m. via Zoom. The board is scheduled to vote on the revised agreement at its May 7 meeting, according to ACPS. The current agreement expires June 30.
Thursday's meeting begins at 6 p.m. in the School Board Meeting Room at 1340 Braddock Place and is broadcast live on cable channel 71 and on Zoom.
See the full docket here.
Ryan Belmore
Ryan Belmore
